


Through The Years

by daggersandribbons



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: 16th birthday, Alternate Universe - Kindergarten & Pre-school, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Child Abuse, Childhood, Consensual Underage Sex, Growing Up Together, M/M, Original Character(s), Other, Shower Sex, Toddlers, a mom named Ann and a dad named Jeff, its 3 am I should be asleep, tot!wald, tot!ward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 16:06:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18347042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daggersandribbons/pseuds/daggersandribbons
Summary: Follow Edward Nashton and Oswald Kapelput as they grow up together.





	Through The Years

Oswald sat alone playing with his stuffed penguin. He was content, just him and his toy. 

“Oswald, dearest, make sure your toys are tidy before your play date comes over.” Gertrud said, fixing her sons fluffy blonde locks. Being a single mother she needed money, and watching the neighbors kid gave her some cash. It also didn’t hurt that Oswald got to socialize. The other kid was nearly two, with dark curls and an infectious smile. 

“Thank you for being able to watch him on such short notice!” Ann Nashton thanked before kissing her son on the head and handing him over. Gertrud sat the boys together. 

“Oswald, you be nice to young Edward. He’s younger than you so you can’t play too rough.” Gertrud warned before sitting in her chair. 

“Kitty!” Edward exclaimed at Oswald’s toy. The blonde boy furrowed his brow. 

“No kitty! This is pen-win.” Oswald argued. Edward babbled in response then crawled over to the toy box to grab a toy car. 

“Vroom vroom!” He giggled to himself. The boys were both fine with being alone, which was exactly the problem both mothers tried to fix. So Gertrud let them play separately until dinner. She sat Edward in the high chair, and Oswald in his new booster seat. He fussed and grabbed at Edwards seat. 

“Oswald Chesterfield, don’t start. You’re a big boy remember? Edward is littler than you, he needs the support. Please be good, show him how to be a beautiful big boy who eats his green beans.” Gertrud mildly scolded. She handed him his purple plastic fork and sat their plates down. Oswald was very skilled with using spoons and forks, while Edward wasn’t so graceful. He had managed the hand to mouth part but not the puncturing food part. So as long as it wasn’t particularly mushy or sticky, he was allowed to use his hands. 

Dinner for the boys was grilled chicken cut into strips and green beans. Ed happily munched and Gertrud praised him. Jealous of the praise, Oswald flipped his plate then proceeded to cry. He held out his hand as crocodile tears poured from his eyes. 

“Oh Oswald, that was very naug- what’s wrong with your hand? Does my handsome boy have a boo boo?” Gertrud baby talked to her son. He nodded and she kissed his hand. His home was definitely his domain. The young tot only cared about his mom and himself, a trait that would follow him through life. 

After dinner was more play time. Gertrud was in the next room washing dishes. Edward watched Oswald stand, he wanted to walk and stand like him. 

“help.” He squeaked. Oswald waddled over. Standing still, he let the younger male use him as a crutch to stand up. Though he was a little unsteady, Edward was extremely happy with himself. He took a few steps before falling flat onto the floor. His lip quivered and tears brimmed his eyes. 

“No cry.” Oswald hushed. He quickly grabbed his stuffed penguin and handed it to the dark haired boy. Edward smiled and hugged it tight. 

From that moment on, Oswald felt compelled to take care of Edward. Growing up as neighbors whose mothers were friends, the boys spent a lot of time together. Edward started kindergarten while Oswald was in first grade. The dark haired boy hadn’t gone to pre-school, so this was his first experience with real schooling. 

~

“Remember that if you have any questions you can ask Oswald.” Ann reminded as she led her son out the front door. “I love you Eddie, have a good day.” She hugged and kissed him before the bus pulled up. He eagerly ran to the bus, meeting Oswald. For Edwards first day, he wore a green polo shirt and khaki shorts. Oswald wore a black button up and khaki pants. 

“So, are you excited for school?” Oswald asked as they sat together. Edward nodded apprehensively. 

The year where his only friend went to school and he stayed home was boring, but he was nervous about all of the new people. Oswald placed his tiny hand on Ed’s. 

“You’ll have fun! They read books and they give you good snacks. You get one right as you come into class! Mommy said you got my teacher Mrs. Gossett. She’s very nice-“ he leaned in. “She doesn’t even care if you call her mommy on accident.” Edward giggled. 

Once they got to school, Edward was ushered to his class while Oswald went his own way. On the tables were nametags with glitter foam letters. He found his and peaked to see who he’d be sharing a table with. To his left was Victor and to his right, Barbra. He was surprised to find that Victor was bald. Sure the boy had seen bald adults before, even bald babies, but a bald kid? That was new. Five minutes into school and he was already learning. Victor was very quiet, so after a hello Edward cut the conversation off. A blonde girl sat down on his other side, her hair in perfect ringlets and her pink dress starched. She looked upset. 

“Hi, my name is Edward. You look upset, are you okay?” He inquired. 

“No dummy I’m not. My name tag is wrong. It’s B-A-R-B-A-R-A.” She huffed. 

“I’m not dumb. I’m very smart.”

“You smell like bus.”

“You smell like a slut.” Edward wasn’t entirely certain on the meaning of that word, but he’d heard his dad say it to his mom once and it seemed to insult her so he used it. Barbara’s eyes widened, if he wanted to use swears so would she and Barbara Kean learned a lot of cuss words and insults in her five years of pageants.

“Well you’re too pale.” A harsh insult in the pageant world, but he wasn’t phased by that so she had to dig deeper. “Your shirt is cheap and your haircut is dumb. I bet you wouldn’t even place at a pageant.”

“My mom says people who have their kids do pageants only do it to fill a hole in their life. So your mommy probably isn’t happy with life.” Edward replied bluntly. That struck a nerve with her. Her parents had been fighting a lot recently. So little Barbara Kean stood up, yanked him out of his chair onto the ground, then sat back down. Before he could retaliate, the two were separated. 

The day went pretty smoothly after that. He even got to experience his first school lunch. The elementary school was K-7, and lunches were divided as so: kindergarten and first (it was easier to have the younger kids in a smaller lunch.) Then it was second, third, fourth. Finally was fifth, sixth and seventh. After Edward got his lunch (chicken strips, mashed potatoes, blueberry yogurt, and a chocolate milk) he sat with the only person he was familiar with. 

Oswald brought his own lunch. This time it was butter spaghetti and apple juice. Fun fact, Oswald didn’t eat pasta with sauce until fifth grade. He smiled at Edward, that was the only good part of the boys first day of school. But better days came and within the week he made his first friend! 

When Edward turned seven, the very serious little boy had some stipulations. His mother was pregnant and due in about a month. 

“If I’m going to have a baby sister, I want to stop being called Edward.” He stated to his parents as they ate dinner. 

“Why’s that?” Jeff, his father, asked. Jeff Nashton, salesman at a hardware store and habitual domestic abuser. Since Ann’s pregnancy, it was almost like he fabricated reasons to put a hand on Edward.

“Edward is a baby name, and I’m not the baby. I want to be called Ed, or Doctor Dinosaur.” He replied. Ann and Jeff both chuckled.

“Alright, sounds like a deal Ed.” Ann said.

“But if you’re not a baby, that means we can trust you with more responsibilities right?” Jeff interjected. Ed nodded excitedly. Added to his daily chores of sweeping after dinner and retrieving the mail was drying dishes. 

He actually enjoyed drying, it gave him quality time with his mom while Jeff watched the news. After drying dishes with Ann for a few days he noticed a bruise slightly below her sleeve line. It was almost as if someone had grabbed her specifically in that spot to avoid it being seen. 

“I learned at school that your bruise should start becoming blue and purple soon, can you let me know when it does?” Ed requested. Ann’s eyes widened, shame spread across her face. 

“Who told you that?” Ann asked.

“A boy I play with at recess. His name is Victor.” He paused. “Momma, did dad give you that?” 

“Yes, dad gave me this beautiful new shirt. I can’t believe he remembered my favorite color, he’s so thoughtful.” Ed knew Ann’s favorite color, it was red. Red like busted capillaries that you get when you scrub your face too hard. Ann’s shirt was blue, as blue as Ed suddenly wanted his dad to be. 

The closer it got to the birth, the higher tensions rose. For the last two weeks Ann was put on bed rest in the hospital, which left the boys at home without anyone to tell Jeff no. Ed thought Jeff when mom was home was bad, but bad didn’t scratch the surface of how he was without Ed’s mom. The day of the baby’s birth Ed went home with Oswald.

“Are you excited to have a sister?” Oswald asked, not looking up from his math homework.

“I mean I guess so. Being a big brother is a big deal so it’s a little scary.” Ed said. 

“If my mom came home with a baby I’d be mad. Want to come with me to the library? I’m on a mission.” 

Ed was intrigued, a mission would keep his nerves at bay. After a bike ride to the library, the boys headed to the microfiche machine. 

“What are we looking for?” He asked. 

“The name Elijah Van Dahl.” Oswald had been in his mother’s closet, trying on her mink coat. While he was wearing it, he found a love note from that name. He knew nothing of his father, just that they were “better off without him”. Though Gertrud said he was dead, the boy held out a little bit of hope. An hour later Ed found something. 

“Oswald, this is fairly recent.” He informed. 

**Van Dahl foundation raises  
money for local orphanage**   
_The Van Dahl charity foundation, ran by Elijah Van Dahl, recently donated one thousand dollars towards the orphanages expansion. When asked what fuels his generosity, he said “Some people never get the chance to be a parent. I thought I was one of those people, until I met my wife and I adopted her children. Adoption can change lives.”_

The article had been just weeks earlier. Ed viewed the image. With Oswald’s hair turning darker, he could definitely see the similarities. Oswald looked at the image. Suddenly all the features he questioned made sense. The sharpened nose, the darkening hair when his mothers had always been blonde. Though he was only nine, he already knew the benefits of withholding information till the right moment. Oswald adored his mother, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t get what he wanted in the end. 

Since their library adventure ended abruptly, they rode back to Oswald’s house and ate pudding till they dropped. When Gertrud came upstairs to tell Ed that he’d be spending the night, she found both of the boys asleep on a comforter on Oswald’s floor. At 10:06 P.M. Eloise Mabel Nashton was born and her parents loved her unconditionally. She would never have to hear her own father call her a mistake, never have to experience a firm hand across the face for not cleaning the living room. 

Gertrud took Oswald and Ed to meet baby Eloise the next morning. Ed was enthusiastic to hold his sister, but his friend was terrified. Oswald had seen babies but never held one. 

“Go on,” Gertrud ushered. Oswald sat next to Ed and held his arms how the nurse told him to. He gave the baby in his arms the face someone makes when they’re wearing socks and they step on something wet. The only time he stopped that expression was when Gertrud took a photo. A mommy’s boy he truly was, and that mommy’s boy guaranteed a smile in every picture. 

~

_“...happy birthday dear Oswald, happy birthday to you!”_

It was a hot summer day when the Nashtons hosted a birthday pool party for Oswald. Gertrud was sick with the flu, so Ann, Ed, and Eloise hosted the party while Jeff was on a business trip. Along with the Nashtons Victor Zsasz, Barbara Kean, Harvey Bullock, and Ivy Pepper were in attendance. While Oswald, Harvey, and Barbara swam the others sat together eating. 

“Come on Zsaszy, why don’t you want to go swimming? It’s a pool party.” Ivy inquired.

“Why does it matter? Ed isn’t swimming and this is his house.” Zsasz argued. Both boys had a different reason for not wanting to take a dip in that refreshing chlorinated water. Zsasz didn’t want to show his bare chest in front of the girls, but Ed’s reasoning was also rooted in anxiety. Growing up next to Oswald for years, Ed developed certain feelings for him. He successfully kept those feelings at bay until he saw how good Oswald looked dripping wet and shirtless. 

When Ann took Eloise in the house, Harvey broke out the flask. 

“This’ll have to do till we get to Barbara’s.” He unscrewed the cap and took a swig. Harvey handed it over to the birthday boy. Ed watched the dark haired boy take a swig then cough. He decided to join them in the pool. 

“Heey Nashton! Do you think your mom could show me how to do that cool tie dye frosting?” Barbara greeted. Oswald smiled at Ed. 

“After this we’re going to Barbara’s to eat snack cakes and drink till we puke, you interested?” Oswald offered. Ed had never had any interest in alcohol before, but Oswald offering made it enticing. But snack cakes were something he could definitely do. So while Barbara and Harvey packed up his truck, Ed headed inside.

“Hey mom, i-is it alright if I go with Oswald? I’ll be back by curfew.” He asked. Ann looked up from her book, a puzzled look on her face. Ed wasn’t a very social being outside of school clubs, so asking to hang out with a boy who just got his license was peculiar. 

“You’re going to hang out with your boyfriend?” Eloise commented. Age seven and so full of snark. Ed felt like the air had been knocked out of him. Was she joking? What if she wasn’t. 

“He’s my friend and nothing else.” Ed responded. 

“Well he’s your friend and he’s a boy. One might say he’s your boy-friend.” Eloise smirked. There was a silence before Ann got to reply to the question at hand. 

“House curfew, not city. Make sure Oswald knows that. Also wear your seat belt.” She replied. Ed kissed her on the cheek and headed outside. 

Barbara’s house was practically a mansion: five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and all for only her and her father. Since her parents divorce, Barbara’s dad tried desperately tried to make her resent him less by buying her whatever she wanted. 

The basement had been made into a movie theater. Harvey drank a beer while Barbara and Oswald drank wine coolers. Barbara’s dad hadn’t bought any movies recently, so all they had available to them were obscure horror films. So they chose _Funeral Home_ and got comfy. Ed munched on an oatmeal creme pie as he watched the film. 

“Can I have a bite of that?” Oswald leaned in and asked. Ed snapped back to attention. 

“Huh?”

“I asked if I could have a bite. Mother doesn’t like them so we don’t buy them, I’ve never had one.” 

Ed handed the cookie to Oswald and watched as he bit into the snack. He took a moment to process his thoughts on the treat. 

“I still prefer chocolate.” Oswald paused to sip his drink. “Do you want to try this? Y-You don’t have to of course.” He knew that Ed probably felt pressured, so it was better that he asked rather than Barbara. Oswald offered a choice, Barbara wouldn’t. Though her words said one thing, her body language said otherwise. She had a habit of being intimidating. Ed took Oswald up on his offer. 

The bottle was cold in his hands. Ed peered into the dark red liquid before taking a swig. There was a slight burn in his throat but otherwise the flavor wasn’t bad. He ended up taking ownership of the drink. 

Harvey left and Barbara went upstairs to make a pizza, leaving the two alone. Ed looked over at Oswald, his cheeks pink from the alcohol.

“Happy birthday, I wasn’t sure if I said that earlier.” 

Oswald smiled. He had been mindlessly chewing on his lips, so they were particularly red and plump. Ed couldn’t help but imagine kissing him. He decided to take a chance right then and there, telling himself if it went wrong he could blame the alcohol.

Ed leaned in for the kiss, and Oswald didn’t object. He wouldn’t admit it, but that was his first kiss. Oswald’s lips tasted like chocolate and vaguely like honey. The kiss didn’t stop there as Oswald kissed back. Ed wanted more, but Oswald pulled away. 

“Let me take you home, it’s past your bedtime.” He joked. That’s when Ed realized it was past curfew. 

He crept into the house, making sure to not step on the squeaky stair boards as he headed up to his room and into bed. Ed had never slept so soundly, if only bliss was eternal. When he woke up, Jeff Nashton was standing over him. 

“Your mother told you to be home on time and you deliberately ignored her.” He sternly stated. Ed’s eyes widened, nothing wakes you up faster than terror. 

“I-I didn’t ignore her. I lost track of time.” Ed tried to explain. That only earned him a hard smack across the face.

“You wanna try again? Your mom told me you left with that queer from across the street. Why’d you stay out so late with him? You some kind of faggot too?” 

Ed couldn’t tell the truth. He couldn’t tell his dad that him and Oswald kissed and it was the best thing that had happened in his young life. If he told the truth, Oswald might get hurt. Jeff already didn’t like Oswald, the boy was open about his sexuality and treated the family with the utmost respect (both of which are completely okay, but when you’re a human flaming dumpster filled with three week old cum socks your opinions get a little skewed). 

“Oswald and I split up last night. He dropped me off at the bookstore. That’s why it took me so long, I walked home. I-I tried to run once I noticed the time but i wasn’t fast enough.” He lied. Jeff yanked Ed out of bed and across the floor. He slid into his dresser head first. As Jeff exited the room, Ed lifted his hand to his head and stared at the crimson liquid that was coming from it. The sight of it made him woozy so he closed his eyes till he could muster the strength to stand. It was between that point and Oswald coming to his house before anyone noticed. 

“He’s fine. Don’t be paranoid. He probably just had a doctors appointment or something.” Oswald muttered as he left fingernail marks in his steering wheel. As soon as he saw Ed wasn’t in his first hour class, he knew something was off. The front door was still unlocked, Ed always locked the door before he left for the bus. When the bus came, Jeff was usually in the basement asleep and Ann was driving Eloise to the elementary school. So Oswald let himself in, letting out a sharp gasp when he saw Ed. 

He wasn’t currently bleeding, but he had quite a bit. The older male found the bandana and wrapped it around Ed’s head Incase he started bleeding again. Now Oswald wasn’t a particularly strong male, but somehow he found the strength to drag Ed to the stairs, then into the living room before lifting him into a computer chair and pushing him to the sidewalk. He wasn’t about to put a bleeding Edward into the back of his car and he wasn’t sure he could transfer him from chair to car; he was faced with a dilemma and needed muscle. Luckily he knew someone who wouldn’t be at school and would be available to assist. 

Together Oswald, Ed, and Zsasz headed to the emergency room. Ed jolted awake when the cold metal of the wheelchair bumped his arm. He stared forward in confusion as they arrived to the hospital front desk.

“W-Why am I in a wheelchair?” He coughed. That’s when he felt the cotton bandana wrapped around his head, which made him remember. 

“He’s awake.” Zsasz said, turning the wheelchair to the sitting area while Oswald signed paperwork. “Are you okay?” 

“My head hurts, how’d I get out of my room? Who brought me here? What ti-“

“Easy there, I don’t know how you got out of your room but Oswald said he found you. He called me to help him put you in the car, too emotional to do it himself. I’m guessing you fell around an hour ago.” Zsasz always gave him the facts. Oswald sat down beside Ed and wrapped the hospital band around his thin wrist. 

“I thought you were dead.” He whispered. Ed opened his mouth to talk, but Oswald had more to say. “I came in your room and I smelled it. I was so scared, I’m not the best with finding pulses so until I saw you breathe...”

Oswald held Ed’s hand while the medical staff ran their tests. Zsasz had left so they were alone.

“Oswald...last night when we kissed, it was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” He started. 

“Let me guess. You got hurt by _him_ because of me.” Oswald interrupted. 

“It’s not your fault.”

“The only reason you broke curfew is because of me. If I ha-“

“Oswald shut up I love you.” 

Both of them sat stunned by those words. Ed had planned on keeping that secret for at least another month. Oswald wasn’t sure if he was more shocked by the shut up or the latter. Sure he had thought about Ed in a romantic light before, but he was sixteen and Ed was fourteen. Something about that number didn’t settle well with the older male, but if he saw Ed with someone else he’d be pissed. 

So they made a deal. Upon the arrival of Ed’s sixteenth birthday, they would formally begin dating. Until then, they were free to pursue other people (though neither of them wanted to) and they could kiss. That nearly two year gap would give Ed time to try to get his parents to change their perspectives. Jeff, besides not being a fan of Oswald, was also wildly homophobic. Ann wasn’t particularly homophobic, but whatever her husband said she agreed with. 

130 kisses. That’s how many were shared before Ed’s birthday (and yes he counted). There were also 35 cuddle sessions, 13 failed attempts to get Oswald to watch a whole horror film, and 6 over the pants handjobs. Waiting was tough, but worth it when the reward was so sweet because once the day came Oswald was Ed’s and Ed was Oswald’s.

Besides getting a boyfriend, Ed also got a job at a pizza place as a waiter. So after his shift he’d usually just spend the night at Oswald’s. Gertrud was supportive of their relationship so she didn’t mind him staying. 

“Os, I’m here.” Ed whispered as he crawled into Oswald’s bed. The older male was peacefully sleeping, but Ed still felt like he should greet him. 

“You smell good.” Oswald murmured as him and his boyfriend fell into big spoon/little spoon formation. Ed relaxed as he felt Oswald’s soft breath on his shoulder.

“I had to work in the kitchen tonight so that’s probably why. Brought you home a calzone too, it’s in the fridge.” He said. Oswald sighed happily. 

In the morning Oswald was awakened by Ed nibbling on his earlobe. 

“What do you want?” Oswald groaned. It was six thirty in the morning, an hour and a half till Ed had to be at school. Oswald on the other hand had graduated and had the luxury of sleeping in. 

“Shower with me?” Ed suggested. 

“Last time we did that, you got written up for falling asleep in class. Wouldn’t want to tire you out, because I’m obviously a sex God.” He teased. Ed rolled his eyes. 

“Please oh God of sex, please bestow upon me your enormous co-“ 

Oswald placed his hand over Ed’s mouth. 

“Alright fine! You’re lucky you’re cute.” 

As mouthy as Oswald was to be woken up, he changed his tune once they got in the shower. The shorter male was pinned against the shower wall, his boyfriends cock filling him. Water hit Ed’s back as he bucked his hips, the water was hot when they first started the shower. Ed washed his hair before their love making out of anticipation of the hot water running cold. 

“ _A-Ah yes_ ” Oswald whined. Ed loved just how gracious sex made Oswald. Though he claimed pet names were childish, he wasn’t against using them during sex. 

“Tell me how you feel,” Ed purred over the sound of skin slapping skin. When Oswald didn’t answer, Ed slowed his pace. Oswald wanted to answer, but the slowness seemed to make him truly experience the seizing of his guts. He was certain that he couldn’t create a string of words, much less articulate his feelings. But he had to at least try.

“Like...like this is all I want everyday.” Oswald mewled. 

“Want me to quit school and make you my personal whore?” Ed inquired. Oswald was thrilled by the idea. He was sixteen and aching to rip Oswald apart, and Oswald was willing. 

“Yes, you’ve had enough school.” Oswald giggled. The pleasure rendered him giddy, his brain turned to mush as his hard cock rubbed against the cool tile. Ed sank his teeth into Oswald’s shoulder as he hit his partners sweet spot. Oswald smacked the tile wall above his head and let out a choked cry. The younger male remembered he did have school to attend. 

“I-I love you!” Oswald moaned as Ed spilled his load into him. Once Ed pulled out, Oswald flipped over.

“On your knees.” He demanded. Ed’s eyes panned down to notice just how bad Oswald needed Ed. His cock twitches as Ed got down on his knees. Ed had such soft and pretty lips that served as gates to his hot, wet mouth. It didn’t take long for Oswald to finish, what Ed didn’t swallow ran down the drain. 

After their romp, Oswald tucked himself back into bed. The couple shared soft kisses before Ed went to school. Though he’d much rather have gone back to Oswald’s after school, to his own house he went. 

“What time did you come home last night?” Ann asked. Jeff looked up from the tv. Had it been just her, her son would’ve said that he stayed at Oswalds. 

“Around eleven. I had to work in the kitchen so I had to help close.” Ed replied as he took off his shoes. 

The evening went fairly smoothly until Jeff confronted Ed before he went upstairs for bed.

“Don’t be hanging around that Kapelput kid. He’s as gay as a two dollar bill. Plus he’s an adult, what adult hangs out with a kid?” He ranted.

“First of all, him and I are only two years apart. I’m not a child and I will do as I damn well please.” Ed replied matter of factly. Jeff craned his hand back to slap him. No one expected him to pull a knife on him and press it to the mans throat. 

“I run hot and cold, I appear blue but run red. What am I?” The teen asked. 

“You’re fuckin’ crazy.” Jeff snarled. Ed’s nostrils flared as he dug the knife into his dads neck and cut across. With his hands shaking, he walked to the phone and called Oswald. 

“Hey, I need you to come over and help me. Bring whatever one would need to get rid of a body.”

**Author's Note:**

> I really should be asleep but instead I’m writing this. I hope you have a nice day and I hope you enjoyed my fic! 
> 
> I take requests for fics on tumblr (girlwiththetechnicolorheart) and Instagram (cobblehottie)!


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